Blind
by unhappytidings
Summary: Someone has targeted Ex-Death Eater families for revenge.  Blinded, Draco is thrown into the hands of a less-than-willing saviour.  Harry is disillusioned after the war and may be more blind about himself than Draco.  Non-epilogue and slightly AU.
1. Welcome to Hell

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter or Warner Bros. franchise, nor will I ever claim to. J.K. Rowling owns all of these characters, I just choose to ignore what she did with them.

AN: Thank you for clicking! This story is rated 'M' for adult situations and possible language. This means you should not be reading this unless you are over sixteen in the first place. I will never be ridiculously graphic in my description, but there are sexual situations here. This is a companion to my Remus/ Hermione, but they are both standalone. There will be moments in the future in which, you may not quite know what is going on with Hermione unless you have read _Reminiscent, _but you'll manage.

As always, please review! It makes me happy and more likely to update faster.

* * *

Waking up was quite possibly the hardest thing Draco Malfoy had to do. Some days after he had awoken at that particular time in question, he would wish that he hadn't. Being awake in this state was worse than anything Draco could think of. From off the top of his head, he could think of a lot. He had seen pain, suffering, loss, fear, loathing, but anything was better than not seeing at all. The first few days after Draco woke up blind were the worst. Blindness did exactly what his attackers had hoped for in all ways but one. This pureblood was alone, defenseless, confused, but completely alive. This darkness that filled every moment since he awoke allowed for a constant flow of what happened on June 5th, 2000.

His family was hosting a party for his 20th birthday. Only half the guest list had come so far, and he hadn't even made it around the room with his salutations once yet. There was a clinking of glasses all the time and house elves were bustling about with cucumber sandwiches. The finest china had been set out in the dining room across from the sunroom, and the silverware glittered even from where he was standing. Some light classical was playing in the ballroom down the hallway. His name was made out above the floor in gold lettering, his mother's idea, of course. As always, Lucius was noticeably absent, and Draco noted that he would check on that later. It was not as if a man under house arrest could get very far anyhow. His mother was walking toward Pansy Parkinson and himself at the end of their finest sunroom, with a delicate-looking blue gift box in her hand. Focusing on his mother now, she had aged so gracefully from when he was in his youth. Her hair was impossibly blonder with age, but still quite fine along with her features. Her skin was quite delicate now, especially with the gold light the room was giving off with its ceiling to floor windows out onto the gardens. He remembered not thinking much of what Pansy was blabbing about, but he knew what he was planning to say next. He knew that he was going to address his mum rather than answering to Pansy's dull story, but even that simple, 'Mother, what a fine beginning to my gala as always,' never birthed from his mouth.

The sound was so deafening, that many of his guests covered their ears and ducked reflexively as this huge obstruction exploded through the entirety of the glass windows, and the last thing Draco saw was Narcissa. Her blue eyes transfixed on him with a look of utter fear on her face as she was swept away toward the opposite wall, then blackness. He was knocked off his feet as well, a whirl of pain floating around his mind, mixed with the kind of panic that makes someone incredibly rigid. Screams registered loudly through his ears. He could pick out Blaise's scream from a mile away. Someone was laughing, and then loudly bellowed curses filled the air. Something else hit him and he lost awareness completely.

It felt like only moments had passed when he came to again. He had a blistering headache now, and the floor was cold. Idly, Draco though it was a strange dream and that he must have lost his footing or something. He would just open his eyes and all of his friends would start laughing about how ridiculous he was to be drunk already. He tried hard to open his eyelids, but nothing but blackness met him. Finally he urged them open and wished he hadn't. There was something in his eyes, glass or the like and it hurt worse than getting hit in the face with a bludger, for sure. He quickly moved his right hand to shut them again carefully, and the pain throbbed. There was dried blood all over his face and something heavy resting from his left shoulder to his hip, pressing uncomfortably into him. As he ran his right hand over his face, he felt a long gash across the left side from his temple to chin, still gushing down his face. He must have been hit pretty hard by whatever was resting on him. Maybe he still had his wand in his trouser pants. Before he could investigate, he heard footsteps.

Draco struggled to lay out fast enough, hoping the intruders were distracted otherwise. He lay deathly still once more and listened with his heart pounding loudly as he tried to hold his breath. "Draco Malfoy," broke the heavy air and Draco swore he had never been happier to hear Harry Potter's voice in his entire life. Draco swallowed his fear then and tried his best to make out something sarcastic or scathing but instead his command came out more as a plea.

"Come help me then." His voice was weak and uneven. Draco thought he hardly even sounded like himself. Harry levitated the piece of wreckage from Draco, as it was gone from his left side a second later. Draco let his right arm cut through the air above him haphazardly and it connected with Harry's elbow, he suspected. "I think I…I can walk, help me up." He thought that sounded more commanding; more like himself. He expected Harry to huff a bit, but nothing. The process was slow and his head was throbbing but Harry helped him stand. At least he could walk, Harry helped Draco put his arm around Harry's neck as they walked to something Draco tested with his hand to be a cot or the like.

"Is the light too bright or something?" Harry asked finally. Draco didn't want to comment on that particular fear but instead focused on his others.

"Where's mother?" Draco asked simply, and he knew a second later that it was worse than losing his sight. Harry didn't comment at first, but his apology broke through Draco's mind numbly. Draco found himself slumping forward and he rested his face in his hands. Tears at this point would probably make things worse. He looked away from where he figured Harry was standing. "What happened?"

"Malfoy, we have got to get you to a healer. You need to be checked out." Harry said instead. Another person came into the room then, he assumed that a bunch of aurors were scouting the manor by now.

"Bloody hell! Harry is that- Malfoy are you-" Draco knew only Weasley could sound that stupid and walk at the same time.

"Alive. Why yes, how good of you to notice. Potter here has failed to mention what happened, perhaps you could elaborate?" It was a worth a try, Draco offered himself.

"Malfoy, you definitely need to get checked out." Weasley said a moment later, sounding just as hesitant as Potter had a moment before.

"Will someone just tell me what's going on?" Draco asked once more feeling even more vulnerable as the gravity of the situation started to feel heavier. His mother was dead. His entire party, friends, family…where were they? Draco felt suddenly nauseous then, swaying a bit from side to side. He suppressed the urge to vomit and steadied himself by resting his hands on the cot. There was a small pop! From a bottle a second later and a warm vial was pressed to his lips.

"Drink this Malfoy. We'll explain everything in a minute when we know you won't pass out from loss of blood," the ginger said. Draco went to turn his face away and start to complain about rights when the liquid that tasted like copper went down his throat instead. He choked on it at first and then gave in. As Draco had suspected, he became woozy all of a sudden, and he felt a pair of arms laying him down on the cot.

* * *

The smell of bleach, ammonia, and chalky antibiotics invaded Draco's nose in an instant. St. Mungo's was ridiculously cold, even with heavy blankets on him. There was a hum of stasis spells in his ears and Draco tested his eyes again. He couldn't open them, but at least the searing pain was gone. His limbs were heavy, but he inspected his face and found there was some sort of cloth around his eyes and head. The blood was gone from what he could tell, yet anger started to fill him instead. As if on cue, some assistant healer entered the room. Perhaps these spells alerted healers too. "Mr. Malfoy. Good to see you're awake. Oh, I meant good to find you awake." The girl's voice was irritating at best and he was sure he had heard it before, but Merlin if he would ever place it. He realized that the lady thought she had insulted him, but Draco couldn't seem to muster that sort of negativity so suddenly. See-blind…oh yes. It made sense then, and Draco's pride stung him.

"Where's Harry Potter? Oh pants, I'd even take the Weasel about now. I need someone to explain to me what happened, right now!" Draco bellowed as best he could with his cracked voice. It seemed only the 'right now' was loud enough for his liking. The girl shushed him and Draco felt deep annoyance. No one shushed a Malfoy. "Who are you?"

"Assistant Healer Chang, Mr. Malfoy. Now, let me help you sit up. I'm going to give you some food, and then Harry will be here to speak with you in an hour, okay?" She sounded a bit annoyed now, and Draco took delight in that fact. Draco felt at his chest and realized that he was in a hospital gown for sure, and then he began feeling for a railing, and when he found none, he pushed himself up with his hands with as much energy as he could muster. His bones felt tired as they creaked into submission. Cho helped him by adjusting the pillows and leaning him back lightly. Her hands were clammy and as cold as the room. She wheeled something cart-like around from what Draco could hear and that prompted Draco to ask his next question.

"When are you going to feed me, Miss Chang? And while we're on the subject of things that could kill me, why don't you explain what happened to my eyes?" He smirked when he heard her give an exasperated sigh. She took his hand and placed it on an empty spoon then replaced it a second later to be full of something. "It's sliced carrots." Cho said simply. Draco grimaced a bit as he tried to direct the food in as elegantly as he could, which was a feat amongst itself. Then he grimaced from the iron-like taste of hospital carrots. She replaced the spoon again with another scoop of carrots. "It says on your chart that you had several pieces of glass enter your eyes and that it took two hours to remove it all. There are a few miniscule pieces that are impossible to reach, but they got most of the damage out. You also had several cuts in your eyelids and all over your face and body, but they were all healable. "

"Terrific. At least I've still got my looks," Draco interjected. Draco thought he could hear Cho rolling her eyes. Another scoop of food was directed at him, this time she mumbled 'peach cobbler.' This tasted much better than the carrots, but he was not about to comment positively. It still tasted a million times worse than what he had for breakfast at the Manor. Breakfast at the Manor sounded centuries away. Was his family home in rubble-form now? "What time is it?"

"It is just after midnight on June the 7th," she replied with another huff. He listened indignantly and was struck with some brilliance.

"I apologize about all the questions; it is just that I can't see." Draco said in his best wounded voice. It did the trick.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Malfoy. I've been a prat. Here you are, putting on a strong face when you went through so much." Draco did his best to keep his face neutral as she continued. "This is why I went into healing. I wanted to see strong people like you surviving and doing the best you could. I wanted to help." If he had command over his eyes, he would have had to try not to roll them. "Look, if there is anything you need… Open." She fed him the next bite slowly and Draco swallowed as she carried on. "Cedric would have wanted me to look past your steely exterior and see that you are really struggling inside." Draco knew he was arching his eyebrow then. How many years had it been? At least seven right? Oh well, if Draco had someone doing his bidding then, he was going to milk it. He took the spoon from her and she directed his hand to the plate. He lifted at something and after a few tries he got something. "It's pumpkin pudding." Draco put it into his mouth, now with a bit more practice. He made sure after each turn not to dribble anything, because Malfoys do not dribble.

The tray was finished and Cho chattered on about how tough training to be a Healer was and that she had been at it ever since she had graduated from Hogwarts. He buzzed in and out of the endless twittering Chang seemed to be able to supply so easily. Whatever potion the healer gave him was wearing off and the slow throbbing started first in his head, right behind his eyes. Then it spread to a heavy ache across his left shoulder. The pulsing grew hotter and more painful suddenly and Cho's voice started to drift in and out. He tried to focus on her. He caught a couple of words about her new beau, some guy named Sebastian. He was on some Quidditch team. Then her voice was gone completely.

When he came to again, Cho was apologizing. She had apparently not been paying attention to his vitals like she was supposed to. Behind the ridiculous bint of an assistant, was another somebody. Draco could hear the thumbing of papers through the incessant excuses of Cho's irritatingly sweet tones. She asked behind her if she could change his bandages before he took over. If there was a pet peeve Draco had, it was someone talking about him as if he wasn't there, and something told him that now that this unfortunate problem had happened, people would be assuming his uselessness quite a bit. The man behind Cho was Harry. He replied something along the line of an 'of course,' but Draco had pushed Cho's hand away from him very simply and she sighed too loudly again. "I s'pose I'll just come back later, Harry." The squeaky cart moved across the room as Harry scraped a visitor's chair across the floor to a better spot. "Mr. Malfoy, if you need anything, just call for me." He heard her hospital shoes pad on the tile away from the room in a frenzy. Had he heard her shoes before? No matter, from what Draco had heard of these things, when a person lost a sense , their other senses go into overdrive. Perhaps his hearing would get that much better.

"Well Malfoy…" Harry started in. Draco heard the chair creak a little as if Harry had moved forward in his seat to face him better. It was clear to Draco that Potter was not comfortable sitting in this room with him.

"Spare me Potter. I don't need pleasantries. Just tell me what you know and what I can't see. By the way, fucking auror, don't think I forgot that your mate the Weasel drugged me back there when I wanted to know what happened." Draco spat at him while Potter apparently was searching for words himself. Draco found himself crossing his arms in defensiveness, like he remembered doing so often when coming face to face with the man who was once the worst person in the world to him. He listened as he heard the chair lean back on two legs. It was silent a moment longer before Harry started in.

"There was some sort of explosion that broke through the sunroom of your house. The perpetrator must have thrown the explosive into the hall to clear out as many as they could at first. Then a group of three or four came in through the broken windows and searched the house for survivors and valuables." Draco felt himself winding up as the voice continued on as if this story was being told to the court. "We got to the Manor approximately ten minutes after the explosion." Half of us, including Ron and I went around front and came in that way. The other half came through the glass like the suspects did. As the first group of us sought for anyone who may be still hiding in the house, the team that entered the back searched for survivors." Draco tried not to shake. It was a lot to take in. He was practically homeless now. He had no caretakers. He had no family. He had no friends, unless…

"Any survivors?" Draco said simply. The question seemed to corrupt the blackness of his vision. It brought up the face of his mother walking toward him again and again.

"Look Malfoy. I know we have had our differences, but I hate to be the one to tell you this." Draco did his best to sit up straighter as he knew the words that came next were going to hurt more than what he saw in his mind on repeat. "Narcissa Malfoy is dead. Lucius Malfoy is presumed dead as well. Although we did not find a body, there is evidence of struggle. He was probably forced into a side-along apparition. As for the other guests of the party…"Harry paused and Draco was suddenly beside himself. He looked away from Harry and he was shaking and silent for a long moment.

"Just continue. Finish. I need to know where I stand." Draco choked out with pristine clarity and obscene amount of propriety. Pureblood training would get him through this.

"Almost everyone perished in the sunroom. If not from the debris from the window, then from the Unforgiveables this group was throwing around." Draco felt acid in the back of his throat. He felt like screaming, vomiting, and crying all at once. He refrained, as always. His feelings would pass; feelings were something you dealt with on your own, if ever. "There were a few that survived, but you were probably one of the best off. Pansy Parkinson was found next to where you were found, barely breathing. She is in a comatose state on the floor above us. Theodore Nott possibly fought back, because when we found him he was screaming. He had been hit several times with the Cruciatus Curse and we think when they heard us coming, they obliviated him. He is here as well." He felt like he was choking. His throat felt like it was full to the brim with sickness. He wanted Harry to stop, but he needed to know. "Astoria Greengrass woke up about four hours ago. She hid under a table in time, but the group found her. She was tortured under the Imperius Curse. We hope that she may get better with therapy. She seems to repeat everything someone says, which is actually positive compared to other people who have been tortured under the Imperius. There is hope for her. The Healers estimate about a month or two and she may be able to go home. The Aurors believe that this more certainly was a targeted event and a hate crime." Draco fidgeted in the slightest and moved the pillows so that the wall was exposed. He felt his neck press against the cool wall, and he was relieved to feel something other than heat on the back of his shoulders. He heard Harry stand and return the chair to its place. It was so quiet the moment after, Draco thought Harry had snuck out. He knew otherwise. His mind filled in the gaps. The assumption his mind had made was that Harry was standing there with his arms crossed and looking really uncomfortable. The truth was not too far from that, but when Harry spoke again, he was much closer than his mind had imagined him.

Harry leaned in, very intimately over Draco's personal space, enough for Draco to smell the brunette's soap. He imagined it was a green bar, some sort of zesty gentlemen smell that went with Draco's whole auror view of the current Harry. He assumed that Harry looked much the same as he had in school, with just a little less scrawny-just-crawled-out-of-a-basement-look and much more heroic looking. This green soap meets mint smell would be Draco's default for what Harry 'looked' like from now on. Another click went out somewhere in his brain and felt one degree less stressed at least. This would be how he could figure out who was around. "What are you doing?" Draco asked, as the soapy-mint smell did not increase nor, did the air move. "Malfoy…" Harry's tone had become significantly quieter, as his hand rested for balance on the very edge of the hospital bed. "The department feels you should not stay in the hospital much longer. You need more healing of course, but it would be in your best interest to move you to a secret location. These murderers are still completely at large, and ex-death eater families have been disappearing one person at a time since about four days before what happened at your house. The Ministry thought to keep it quiet at first, but now there are too many disappearing. I am sure you know what kind of position you are in once they have found out you are living. The department would like to put you into protective services. Cho will be coming as well, until you are able to move around without a large amount of medication. Kingsley trusts very few with your safety, seeing as this case has very few leads to go by. It is-"

"Why, in Merlin's name would the Ministry give one rat's arse about me? It is not exactly as if I am some sort of hero or large financial aid to the department or anything." Draco interrupted, feeling rather put out that again his freedom had been taken from him on another matter. His experience had taught him to question anything that didn't benefit someone and he could see no benefit for anyone but himself. Harry gave a soft groan above Draco's head and continued.

"It is important to the Ministry that you survive because of your father's hand in the Ministry, I suppose. Kingsley didn't really give me a list of why it would be good to save your arse. I'll make sure to ask him if he's your number one fan when I get the-"

"That's fine Potter. It is not like the Ministry is going to start making decisions that make sense overnight. Move me, do what you will. Have my house-elf Vie moved to my location as well. If I'm going to be thrown into some worthless hole in the ground, then at least give me someone more vigilant on my needs than Miss Chang. I am sure she is pardonable and such, but I would rather her not be admiring my body as I get dressed…"

"She is a registered assistant, Malfoy." His voice had moved back about a meter. The serious sound to Potter's voice had lightened and it sounded as if he was teetering between amused and offended, probably the latter.

"Yes, I'm ridiculously fit. I don't need anyone having the benefit of peeking if I can't even look at myself." Malfoy mused, using a mock-whine.

"I am sure she will manage." He could hear Harry struggling to place some sort of serious tone back into his voice and failing.

"Potter, I need someone who will feed me edible food. I need my trunk and wand. My house-elf will be able to do that for me." He imagined Potter giving his most indignant expression to Draco now. A moment later a thin piece of wood was placed into his hand. It felt strange in his palm. This was not his regular wand.

"You are the rightful owner to this wand. I believe your Ollivander wand has seen its final battle. Your fall snapped it in two at the Manor. I needed to give this to you anyway." Harry said simply.

"Well, are you going to bring me my robe and house-shoes also? The newspaper would be up in arms if they knew that Saint Potter was serving things to me," Draco shot, feeling for a moment as if he was back at school throwing insults at his foe. There was another sigh a second later and Draco could tell the auror had moved away from him altogether.

"Ron will be by shortly to assist in moving you. Cho has already been informed and I've got to go. If you need anything, please, hesitate in calling." Harry said, the professional ring to his voice was established once more. Draco listened as Harry took a couple short steps to the door, but then he found himself calling out.

"Potter, has there been any movements made for my mother's service?" The room felt colder as the gravity of the situation felt heavy on his shoulders once more. Harry cleared his throat.

"Arrangements have started for a memorial service from what I understand. Not much has been done, but as your mother's only surviving relative aside from you, Andromeda Tonks has agreed to start planning." It was terrible to imagine someone he had never met planning the services for his mother, but it was doubly so to imagine that this woman who had not spoken openly to his mother since he was born, was willing to do so. Draco thought about it for a moment longer. Before he could muster a reply, there were a few more short steps and a click at the door. Draco was alone once more.

There was too much information swimming through his mind. Almost everyone at the party had died. His mother was dead. Not one person walked free. Father was missing. Was he a hostage? Dead in Knockturn Alley in the gutter? His mates who didn't die were scattered across several hospital beds… His mother was dead and his estranged aunt was planning the memorial. Draco gave the wand in his hand a wave as an afterthought feeling the emotions hitting him one after another in waves. He set the foreign wand right on his side and slid back down slowly into his bed. How did this all start? Two days ago? A week ago? Had someone always been planning this attack? Draco's heart was racing and he was breathing fast. How much longer did he have? He was defenseless…


	2. Murder She Wrote

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter or Warner Bros. franchise, nor will I ever claim to. J.K. Rowling owns all of these characters, I just choose to ignore what she did with them.

AN: This chapter jumps around quite a bit. I hope that you can keep up. I can safely promise you I will not jump around between this many people in any other chapter. And remember all of this happens after Hermione goes back in time in _Reminiscent, _my Remus/ Hermione fic. Not required to understand this fic, but recommended. Reviews make me happy!

* * *

Two Weeks Earlier…

The green plume of possibly the most famous enchanted quill of all time scratched away fervently as the hour grew later. Rita Skeeter yawned very loudly into the stilled air of her office. Scratching the back of her head tiredly she cast a tempus and moaned. 2:37 AM would not do in allowing time for beauty sleep. Of course, shaking the feeling of annoyance off, she glanced again at the last edit she had made to the quill's writing. _"Saviour of the Wizarding World, Harry Potter (20) has finally returned from his unknown trek across the globe to London once more. In tow Hermione Granger (21) and Ron Weasley (21) have also returned from vacationing. The three heroes and their height of fame were felt even as I sat with the three of them on my patio this afternoon. 'The one month long vacation for our 'Golden Trio' was just what the Healer ordered,' Miss Granger said with a new glint in her eye. The three of them had not been spotted together, nor have they accepted interviews together since the 'Death Eater Trials' three years ago. Although none of the heroes were willing to comment on where their little journey took them, they did mention quite a bit about where they were going. Mr. Ron Weasley gleamed with pleasure at the chance of mentioning his second anniversary as an auror. He also dropped the name of the young lady he been seeing for about a year now. 'I am absolutely head-over-heels with Lavender Brown. I suppose I always have been.' Hermione Granger looked relieved as Ron went on about his lady-love. The couple went to the altar last year, as my readers will remember, only to call it off at the last moment. It seems that they have buried the hatchet since, but as it goes- sources confirmed that that wedding was destroyed because of jealous lovers on both sides. Harry is still connected with Ginny Weasley as of late but, it is obvious his love with Hermione dies hard. There were several moments throughout the afternoon Hermione and our dear Harry exchanged longing looks of undying love at each other when I was otherwise occupied with question of where Harry's profession might go beyond his top auror ranks. The question on everyone's mind seems to be, 'What does one do after saving the world?' Hermione chose to mention that her job with the Ministry was going swimmingly, and although it is classified, Harry jumped to her defense and mentioned that she was responsible for keeping the population safe as she always has. Their beautiful love for each other was quite heart-warming, but we must remember our dashing Saviour is quite a taken man. Ginny Weasley had no comment when questioned about the obvious relationship between our Heroine and the Chosen One. Harry tried denying the relationship but later mentioned that 'she (Hermione) was quite the catch for anyone.' Hermione later spoke for Harry as he was quite red and flustered at one point, 'Harry is considering his options carefully.' Harry outshines Ronald as an Auror, but the question is will he run for office soon? There has been talk about Harry returning to Hogwarts to take up teaching and even something farfetched like running for Minister of Magic against incumbent Shacklebolt in a future election. Even as these three young heroes regaled me of their current lives it is never too far from their eyes what great sacrifices they have made for the greater good."_

Satisfied at the column she placed it delicately into her outbox. With a gratifying sigh to herself, she glanced to the title below that parchment. "_Death Eaters Today: A Shame to Our Society_" was bound to be a hard-hitting article. Rita had actually considered not publishing that particular column, but her reporter mentality won that battle. Rita swept a hand messily through her blonde pin-curls. These two articles were going to be published one after another and by the time the Death Eater piece hit the front page of the _Prophet,_ she would be on her much deserved vacation. In her outbox sat the remaining two articles that would make her reach her award winning goal of 500 columns. This vacation would be a great time to let things settle down here and she would come back just in time for her award in Journalism. Satisfied with herself, she folded her horn-rimmed glasses and tucked them into her clutch with the green quill in close pursuit. She clicked the clutch shut and lowered the light from the lamp at the desk to a very dim glow as she stood. She hadn't walked two steps toward the fireplace before the door of her office was hit with a 'bombarda' that sent shards of wood in every which way. Rita was frozen mid-stride in complete shock. She could bring herself to do nothing but stare as the tall cloaked figure intruded into her office. Complete panic struck her then as she went for her wand in her clutch. The figure laughed dryly as they raised their wand to aim the shot. Rita paused and tears leaked from her eyes a moment later. The figure's breathing came ragged and all she could think about was the complete madness that she found in her murderers' eyes. Green light filled the room a moment later, Rita's eyes dulled, unseeing from the floor. The murderer nudged her lifeless body aside with their foot and upon hearing the stirring of investigators nearby the figure rushed and searched for the parchment on the desk. The footsteps drew closer and closer and the stranger was frantic now. Unable to find the paper they were looking for, they ran to the fireplace and were gone in a moment's green flame.

* * *

The Next Day…

Harry found himself suddenly very awake as the too cold water beat down on him and shuttered out of its flow and adjusting it. When satisfied, he stepped more cautiously into the jet stream allowing his black hair to fall into his eyes and his shoulders to droop. Harry took in the silence around him and was delighted to find it didn't hurt as it did a month ago. The dull ache in his chest was steadily weaker and he brought his hand to support him as the water continued to beat down. How could Harry Potter be so thick? He had done the same thing Ron had done to Hermione; her…cheating on him? Oliver Wood is gorgeous after all. It is not like he couldn't see the attraction, but Ginny never even talked to him about what she was feeling. He thought back over the past two years hundreds of times and it just didn't add up. Harry made it a point to take Ginny out, to show her affection in public, and of course he got along with the Weasleys. If she wasn't interested anymore, then why didn't she say anything? Hermione's voice vibrated through his mind at that word, 'interested.' Hermione had been the only one he was able to talk to about the incident since. She said that maybe it didn't work that way. Maybe he wasn't interested in her anymore. Maybe she got depressed and sought elsewhere. Elsewhere, meaning straight into the arms of that _Playwitch_ model Oliver Wood. The magazine was laying splayed open to his centerfold on their bed when he got home from auror training one day. His toned body wrapped in red linen, laying across some white sand. Harry regrettably looked down in the shower, surprised to see at least one part of him partially interested by the memory.

Harry knew then. As he got out of the shower and dressed slowly, he knew why Ginny had left him. Although she had been wrong to go behind his back, he had been wrong to not have pleased her in private. Ginny was a red-headed beauty, but Harry found himself less interested in sex after their first time when Ginny said she wanted to try. There was a loud rapping at the marbled bathroom window as soon as Harry had pulled his trousers on. Harry rolled his eyes, but when the tapping continued with more urgency, he let the owl in. The bird was perfectly white, which gave him a small pang after his fallen Hedwig. This regal-looking bird perched itself on the newly-installed long-neck faucet. As Harry drew nearer, it seemed to perch its neck higher as if to exude importance. He took the note it offered and disappeared without so much as a nip or any sort of token.

_Mr. Harry Potter,_

_My Wife hastens to visit with you today around two this afternoon. This meeting shall be regarding our son and his well-being. We beg your indulgence in this meeting. Hope this note finds you well._

_Signed,_

_-Lucius Malfoy_

How like the Malfoys. They send a letter and presume the answer. That would explain the haughty owl as well. He read the letter again and moaned. He wondered what he had done to Malfoy without seeing him, and what Narcissa Malfoy could possibly have to say to him after no more than a polite nod at the ministry functions they were expected to be at. He looked down at his clothes and before considering changing them, he realized there was no need. She was barging into his house with hardly any notice. Still, better go with a button-down today. Harry grabbed the nearest shirt out of the closet and buttoned it as he went. The smell of breakfast sausages and Remus Lupin's cooking was too enticing to wait any longer. Teddy was in his high-chair munching happily on cheerios that were also evenly distributed across the kitchen table and floor. Remus handed him a plate of potatoes O' Brian with a thick banger and some toast before Harry could even mumble out a 'morning.' Harry learned fast that although Remus was an early-riser, he was not very communicative until he had had his tea. It wasn't until Remus was half-way through his Earl Grey and Teddy had been successfully fed half of a banger that he looked up at Harry who was busying himself with the quidditch section of the _Prophet_.

"Have you got to the front page yet?" Remus asked croakily. His voice wasn't quite in full-swing yet. Harry sifted through the stack beneath the Cannons article, and found the front page. Remus watched as Harry's eyes flickered with curiosity and resentment.

_Rita Skeeter Murdered on the Eve of Her Thousandth Published Article_

Harry read on. All of the details about her death were brushed over and then in true _Prophet_ fashion, there were several paragraphs on conspiracy. It was then as he reread the article that Harry realized how much he had really changed since his defeat of Voldemort. If he had been right out of Hogwarts he would have been completely immersed in this idea of finding a murderer and shoving them behind bars. But now it was so much harder to see just black-and-white. He found that although he couldn't side with a dark wizard, he could sympathize and that wasn't what the aurors were looking for. He didn't like the idea of putting others on the line either.

"Wow." Harry managed to choke out finally. "Do you think any of this drivel has truth to it?" It was hard to imagine that Luna Lovegood could be a suspect to anything but a crime against nargles.

Remus tilted Teddy's tray into the rubbish bin before returning to his seat. "Well, I'd say that if this were any other post, it would have at least fifty percent truth mixed in there, but since it's the _Prophet_, they are held to different expectations of silliness."

"Come on now. Luna Lovegood? Kingsley? Charlie Weasley? These names have as little to do with the case as they do with each other." He took a stab at his potatoes with his fork.

"Not that I'm agreeing, or thinking that any of these names will go anywhere, but it's been almost three years since the war. We can't expect a name alone to mean they wouldn't have a motive for doing this. War can make people go off their rocker. It's not like Rita was exactly well-liked either. She stepped on everyone's toes as a hobby." Remus mumbled off-handedly as he struggled with the highchair clasps.

"You're right, I suppose. No one expected Lee Thomas to make off with 10,000 galleons from Gringotts two months ago. I saw him only a week beforehand, looking on top of the world." He finished off his toast with another bite and looked past Teddy who was blowing bubbles to Remus. He was staring down at the moving picture of Skeeter on the front page. Harry took the quiet moment in the kitchen to notice how much brighter the kitchen was from when he had left for vacation. The formerly dingy and ancient kitchen that had been corroded with rust stains, dust, and general years of neglect were no longer apparent. Remus had been pouring some of the money Sirius had left him into renovating the place along with some of Harry's money and put as much of the rest of it that he could into something for Teddy. Harry smiled to himself as he glanced over the newly finished chestnut countertops and the sage green walls. Only magical crests of the Black family remained from the kitchen's past. Harry and Remus agreed that these imprints probably wouldn't come off even if he changed the walls themselves. The window over the sink was what made the kitchen truly different. There was actual light from the Sun hitting the table of their nook. Remus really had done a good job, but Harry found out quite quickly that Remus knew a fair amount of odd jobs. His longest duration at any job was something like two years. Harry closed his fist a little tighter around his tea in thinking about the kind of prejudice his adopted-uncle must receive daily. Teddy would never know that sort of prejudice; thank Merlin lycanthropy was not hereditary. Harry straightened his glasses on the bridge of his nose and felt tired as he looked at the bright-eyed little tyke. It was tough for Harry to imagine a world where someone could be mean to a kid like that, but then again there was an anti-were society, so stranger things existed. Then he caught sight of the look Remus' amber eyes were giving him and he knew what he must look like.

"Do you remember the day that you asked me to watch Teddy since Andromeda was out of town?" Harry started, as if the air from his balloon had suddenly dissipated. Remus nodded and Harry took it as his cue to continue. "Ginny said I should spend the day out with Teddy because she wouldn't be home until the day after. I had planned to do just that, but I forgot to take Teddy's playpen when we went to the park, so I figured I would just bring him home for his nap. The stairs were creaking when I got here. The kind of creaking that tells you someone is upstairs. I put Teddy in his pen in the sitting room and started upstairs. I silenced my steps as I went. I figured Ginny was trying to surprise me." Harry paused, sucking in a breath as if he had forgotten to breathe, and he knew he was turning red. He couldn't bring himself to look at Remus' eyes, instead settling on a gurgling Teddy as he pushed on. "When I got to the landing I heard her, moaning. I knew she wasn't alone then. I saw the signs, but I thought Ginny wouldn't do that to me. I was wrong, of course." Harry saw the picture that was burned in his mind once more.

_Harry pushed the door open with more force than he had meant, but it did not seem to bother the lovers on his bed. Harry leaned against the threshold, transfixed on Oliver Wood's muscled body as it hunched over Ginny's debauched form. He had knotted his fingers deep into her red hair as he continued to rut into her, the dirty noises of betrayal filled Harry with a sadness. Harry tore his eyes away from the train wreck a second later, the sounds replaying in his head of their moans and hurried releases. Harry let out a sigh as he quickly shut the door to his room, he moved away from the knob as if it had stung him. He fell against the wall of the hallway, shock filling him completely now. He kicked away a shirt of Oliver's that had caught his foot on the floor. He noticed his trainers and trousers also pooled next to the door that Harry swore radiated heat. The door was flung open a moment later, before Harry had even noticed that that terrible loop of noise had stopped in the first place. Oliver Wood stood stark naked in the doorway and Harry noticed his face flushed the second he saw Harry. He gathered his trousers from the floor and turned to yell something behind him to Ginny, before making a break down the stairs. Ginny appeared at the door a moment later, Harry's duvet wrapped around her. At least she had the decency to look embarrassed. Ginny said a lot of things then. She said apologies, placed blame, and then she was gone._

"Of course, it was both of our faults. I wouldn't choose myself over Oliver. I hadn't been what she had wanted in a boyfriend and she completely betrayed me and disrespected me." Harry's tea had gone cold by the time he had finished his story, and chanced a look up at Remus. Remus had his arms crossed as if he was extremely uncomfortable with the situation. The gesture looked worrisome on him, but Harry knew that Remus was piecing something together when he did that. Remus levitated the dishes from breakfast to the sink before speaking.

"Mrs. Potter said once that you can put a hole in a wall and try to patch it up, but the hole will always be there, no matter how perfect the sticking charm. I'm sorry, Harry. You didn't deserve that. I never saw it coming from Ginerva. It may take a while, but you're a good man, Harry. Someone much better will come along." Harry smiled weakly; it was nice to have reassurance from someone other than Hermione sometimes.

"Can you believe that when I told Hermione about this, she seemed to think that Ginny thought I hated her?" Harry pointed out. Remus raised an eyebrow as he lifted Teddy from his highchair. "I naturally got pissed during vacation, and one night 'Mione went with me. She said that Ginny told her a couple months ago, that Ginny had her suspicions I was queer." Harry released the words with a chuckle. Remus paused with Teddy mid-air for a split-second and eyed Harry carefully. Remus let out a non-committal hum and Harry rolled his eyes. Remus threw caution to the wind and patted Teddy in the back as he attached to Remus' neck. "I've never seen any of those signs, Harry. I think she was just being ridiculous. Girls try to find all sorts of reasons to justify them." Remus finished. Harry let out a sigh he hadn't noticed he had been holding. He found Remus' words relieving. Remus retreated to the hallway and then turned on his heel again. "I'm going to Andromeda's today. She said she wanted to see Teddy." Remus said starting up the stairs. Harry stood and followed Remus slowly, then paused next to Remus' open door.

"I got a letter from Lucius Malfoy. He said that Narcissa wants to come for tea today." He said with an awkward grin on his face. Remus whipped around a moment later.

"Are you serious?" Remus replied, completely dumbfounded with the thought of Narcissa in their house.

Harry grinned even wider, "Can't be sure, but I know I'm not barking." Remus chuckled happily, giving a little eye to the waving Sirius on his bedside. He cleared his throat and looked back to Harry. "Does she want the house?"

* * *

Narcissa Malfoy apparated herself just on the corner of Grimmauld place, quickly pocketing her wand into the front her finest grey robes. She found herself pausing momentarily, looking at the metropolis that was springing up around this forgotten corner of England. As a youth, she and her sisters used to play in the fields around her eccentric aunt's house. But as the people flocked to this place, she remembered her aunt who was already up in her age getting crankier and crankier. Her aunt would have hated this place now, but Narcissa certainly did not. There were too many good memories from before she lost her sisters to a ridiculous war and family severances. She continued walking again toward the family home that now housed the most famous wizard of the age.

There was no pride in Lucius' voice when he told Narcissa about his idea to best hide their son from the world when these terrible things had started happening. Lucius still had ties with Knockturn alley, and so when he came to Narcissa in her breakfast room this morning, she just listened as he explained his worries for the family and for Draco exclusively. There were two things that Lucius constantly had on his mind: how to preserve the Malfoy line, and protect it from further scrutiny. The choice Lucius had made was to achieve both of these. He explained to her that he had heard from his sources that Rita Skeeter had been murdered over night and since it was obvious Draco was not exactly in the best light, it wouldn't be too long before they come knocking. Skeeter was the first public person to be murdered, but the underworld had suffered quite a few losses. Aurors did little investigation, possibly because no one seemed to mind all that much if a death eater or an accomplice went missing. The shopkeeper who sold the cabinet that got death eaters into the castle a few years ago, had returned to his job after serving a short sentence in Azkaban. Then, it was Lucius' estranged cousin once removed who had assisted in getting Bellatrix to mainland after she had been sprung from Azkaban. Narcissa pushed her plate away from her as Lucius leaned forward and took Narcissa's hand intimately in his own. He explained to her then that he had sent the letter to Potter to get their son out of direct fire. But Narcissa knew her husband and knew that there was more to that. She was not let down. He went on to explain that Draco would better gain their reputation back if he was sighted with Potter and that would throw them back into popularity with the Ministry.

Narcissa held her head a little higher as she stood on the porch of 12 Grimmauld Place and she was a received by Kreacher, a moment later. Harry was absent from the front hall, but in his place was Remus Lupin. Narcissa returned the polite nod that was offered to her and she followed him and Kreacher into the sitting room. Kreacher disappeared into the kitchens to make her, what she was sure would be, Black tea. Black tea and lady fingers were the only things her aunt allowed him to make when the guest brought propositions to the table. She settled her gaze lightly on her host of the moment, and Remus seemed slightly putout as he returned her gaze. Then, a second later, she realized why. There was a loud cry coming from the upper floor and Remus promised that Harry would be down in a moment before bowing his head respectfully once more and hastening to his son upstairs. Narcissa found herself surveying the wallpaper that still glistened her name, next to the burn hole, and Bella's name as well. She remembered the day that her aunt burned Andromeda's name with the tip of her wand with the family looking on. Bella was cackling insanely and talking to her boyfriend Rodolphus via fire-call as if their sister never existed. Her mother and aunt were discussing loudly the loss that was losing a pureblood to some mud-blood, and how Bella and she were the true young ladies the Black family could rely on. Narcissa never spoke up about the sudden nonexistence of Andromeda, not that she would have. It was never a decision she thought she would make. Defending her sister had no real benefit for her, and although Andromeda was cut off from her dowry, and any sort of inheritance to a knutless mud-blood, she had her happiness. Andromeda loved making decisions that were not really hers to make, while Narcissa chose to not rock the boat, and that had won her her school beau, Lucius Malfoy.

Narcissa sat more rigidly in her chair as she heard footsteps fall in the hallway, and a few moments later, the platter of Black tea and ladyfingers were splendidly spread across the silver platter with the Black crest emblazoned on the handles. Potter came in and sat opposite her in a slightly wrinkled green button-down with a polite nod. "Sorry to keep you waiting Mrs. Malfoy. Er…can I help you?" Harry asked sounding slightly uncomfortable. Narcissa decided to take the indirect route to the request. Just as she cleared her throat lightly to start in, Remus returned to the room with a baby asleep over his shoulder. He took his seat next to Harry and Narcissa caught a glimpse of the baby's ears from where she was sitting. She refrained from her initial reaction to laugh. That young one had the same distinct ears as Andromeda had, a little bigger than everyone else's, with a bit of a point at the top. That was when she realized she missed her sister. It was Remus who was a widower of Andromeda's daughter Nymphadora. Narcissa realized quite suddenly that this room must be quite awkward to be sitting in, with someone whose name could be seen glimmering brightly with pride on the wall, while everyone these two knew and adored, had had their names removed from the tree. Then she felt her black humor overcome her, but she did allow a small smile to overtake her face as they both settled in. They may mistake her smile as a polite one, but Narcissa found her mind quite overcome with the irony that was this situation. She was a Black and that terrible sense of humor was inherit with all of them. Sirius might even laugh at this irony in his turn, or maybe not.

"I'm sure it has not escaped your notice that Rita Skeeter was murdered this morning." The pair shared a glance that Narcissa tried to ignore as she shoved on, after they both nodded. "It has not escaped our notice either, which is why I am here to ask you, Mr. Potter, what are your plans for future projects?" Remus rubbed the child's back obviously quite surprised by the question and Harry turned the handle of his teacup from one side to another. He took a sip from the tea as to stall for time. Finally he replied with a simple and indistinct, "Not positive, but I was thinking about looking into Hogwarts."

"Interesting idea, Mr. Potter. My son is also looking into Hogwarts." Narcissa could see that Harry and Remus were perplexed with the installment of her last question into the conversation. But, Harry did his best to try and follow the conversation that he was definitely not following. "And does Mr. Malfoy enjoy this erm…option?" Harry asked, with his most professional voice established. Narcissa picked up her cup of tea and took a light sip before helping herself to a single ladyfinger. Harry fidgeted in his chair and Narcissa suppressed another smile. It was obvious the set of them had the inclination to have her out with it already. Lucius would have loved to see her do this to them. He always enjoyed listening to her confuse her guests…

Narcissa froze then, and her mind started spinning. _The Greengrasses were sitting in Narcissa's blue sitting room at ten-thirty last night. The conversation was still lively. Athena Greengrass was quite a compatible conversationalist and Narcissa was having a good time talking in circles with her. She was talking about the possible arrangement between Athena's daughter Astoria ,and Draco in the future. Professor Greengrass had an extra glass of brandy as he listened to the two of them chattering, Narcissa regarded the Professor as Athena started up again. His eyes were getting droopy as the flames from the fireplace licked at the wood and danced off the walls. The tall window in this room was showing a crescent moon and Narcissa realized then how late it must truly be. She looked to her right, where Lucius normally sat and he had gone. Curiosity sparked in her mind as she gave her attention back to her guests. It wasn't too long after that that she had Vie escort the Greengrasses out. Narcissa's nightly rituals overshot her curiosity on the whereabouts of her husband. She settled into their beautiful ivory four-poster with the newest copy of 'Witch Weekly,' her secret indulgence and she had fallen asleep before her husband returned. It was several hours later that Lucius returned to her. He hadn't slept with his back to her since the year before Voldemort's death._

Remus and Harry were staring at her as if she had grown another head when Narcissa came into herself once more. "Forgive me. I have not been sleeping well. Mr. Potter, it is my intention to come to you today and ask something of you that I am sure will sound ludicrous. I need you to promise me something, Mr. Potter." Harry leaned forward then, his teacup was laid aside and it was quite obvious he was all ears. "Mr. Potter, you must promise me that you will watch over my son."

Harry leaned back in his chair so quickly it looked as if she had slapped him. Remus was equally shocked, his eyes glinting with intrigue. "Excuse me? I am sorry Mrs. Malfoy, but I am sure you have lost me completely. Draco…uhh…I'm sure he can take care of himself. And even if he was unable, I am sure I would be the very last he would ask for help." Harry rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, looking very confused.

Narcissa sat impossibly taller in her chair, trying to hide the nervousness she suddenly felt. "That is why I am asking you for this, Potter. I can trust only you in this. Should the occasion arise that my son need taking care of, please protect him."

Harry stood then. He closed the fireplace and shut the sitting room doors in a fluid motion. Remus watched Narcissa's face intently as Harry went to block out all forces. "You always speak in riddles, Mrs. Malfoy. Tell it to me straight. Has Mr. Malfoy threatened you? Has he said something to Draco?" Narcissa put up her hand to stop him. She gave him a grim smile and moved her hair to one side. Her hair needed a trim for sure, she thought idly, as she clutched at it for comfort.

"Mr. Potter-"

"Harry." He interrupted, looked completely beside himself in confusion.

"Harry, my husband has not said a word to me or my son in harshness. He and I are simply worried about the safety of our son. There are dark wizards outside of this room that have a vendetta against anyone with that ridiculous mark on their arm. Lucius and I would just like to make sure that, should something ever happen to either of us that you will watch over my son." It was quick thinking on her part, but it looked as if her words were bought and sold. Remus looked even more uncomfortable now, his eyes darting to Harry's face. Harry looked at him and shrugged his shoulders.

"Mrs. Malfoy, I owe you my life, and to repay that debt I will promise you that I will do my best to watch over your son, should the worst happen to you and your husband." His voice sounded so brave and so solemn. It was not enough for Narcissa.

"Harry, my son is the only thing that matters to me in this world. Swear it to me. Swear to me that if Lucius and I die, you will protect Draco from these monsters. Lie to him if you must. Do anything you need to, to keep him from being alone when they come for him. When these wizards are caught, you may be released." Narcissa said, standing as well, which brought Remus to stand also.

"Harry, think about what you are doing! You can't just do an unbreakable vow with Narcissa Malfoy. It is obvious that there is more going on here than she cares to mention." Remus started, grasping at Harry's shoulder. Harry looked straight at Remus and nodded out of respect.

"Remus, will you do the honors? I owe Mrs. Malfoy my life. I have to assume that this request is for the best. If she had some ulterior motive to see me dead, she would have succeeded years ago." Narcissa crossed her arms boldly. She hated when people spoke of her as if she was not there. Then she watched as Harry unbuttoned his cuff on his right hand and exposed his tan skin up to the elbow. She pushed her sleeve up carefully and took his offered hand.

"I swear to do everything in my power to keep Draco from being alone if Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy should perish, until the day that these people who seek Draco's life are safely locked away." Harry said solemnly as he looked directly into Narcissa's eyes. The scar shown white on Harry's knuckles and on the underside of Narcissa's forearm.

"Thank you, Harry. Thank you, Lupin." Narcissa said simply, crossing her arms and shifting the robe back over the offending limb.

"Now I must go and see my sister, if you could open the floo network for me." Harry nodded simply, but it was Remus who waved open the fireplace for her. It seemed he was more than willing to reconnect the two sisters, if he could help it. Narcissa was gone in an instant, landing evenly on the doorstep of a clean blue cottage next to the sea.

* * *

Back to the present…

Harry shivered, remembering that promise he had uttered to Narcissa. The scar was gone now. He was sure Narcissa knew that he did not have to keep promises to the dead. He would keep it nonetheless and perhaps that was why Narcissa had impressed upon him the Vow in the first place. Maybe she just wanted to see if he was willing to promise her so much. She must have trusted him enough to keep it in her death as well. Harry sipped at his coffee and looked up at the ceiling over his kitchen at Grimmauld Place. It was 5:37 AM on June the 7th and he was officially rid of his red-headed problem for a much larger and more complicated blond one. Draco was sleeping and Cho probably doing the same in the room next to her patient's. He had lied to Draco, of course. He was sure that Draco would have never agreed right out to staying with him for no reason. He was also sure that Draco knew he was lying. He figured Draco needed to believe the lie for the sake of his pride. He did not know much about Draco Malfoy, but he knew his ego could fill a ballroom easily and be deflated even easier now that he was down to earth and out of his element. He wondered if he would ever get along with that nuisance upstairs.

There was one more thing Harry Potter wondered about. If Narcissa Malfoy had planned things out so perfectly for her demise only two weeks prior and Lucius Malfoy was still missing from his house-arrest at the Manor, then something was rotten in the state of Denmark…


	3. Blind Navigation

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter or Warner Bros. franchise, nor will I ever claim to. J.K. Rowling owns all of these characters. I choose to ignore what she did with them.

AN: Thanks to all those lovely story alerts, favorites, and those few reviews. Please remember those reviews make me happier than anything else! A happy author updates. So if you were one of the twenty favorites or alerts, I would love to hear from you. That doesn't exclude YOU either! :) Caution: Chapter Contains Pissy Draco and a Confused Hermione. If you haven't done so already you may want to check in on _Reminiscent, _my Hermione/Lupin. Doing so may help you understand why Hermione may treat Draco so strangely in the chapters to come. Of course, if you have any questions or concerns, review!

* * *

Draco found himself swinging his legs over the side of his bed groggily. Cho had lovingly mentioned to him that it was ten-forty in the morning, and that if he'd like to try and navigate, now was the best time. There was heaviness to his body as he stood on his own two feet for the first time in Merlin knows how many days it was now. His shoulder still felt bruised as he gave himself a moment to steady himself on his feet and let the swirling on the inside of his lids to stop. Cho was holding onto his non-bruised shoulder lightly, as a just in case. He nodded her off and she huffed when he asked for Vie. She had arrived only the last time he had been awake and he still couldn't be more thankful that someone was listening to him.

Cho let herself out and Vie asked if he was in for a bath. Draco nodded and crossed his arms. He pictured Vie, a very young house-elf nearly half the size that Dobby had been, disappearing into a WC suite across the hall. He tipped his foot out in front of him and walked as briskly as he could toward the sound of the rushing water. He helped himself out of his pajama set while leaning against a wall to keep him steady. In his eagerness to remove that feeling of hospital grime from his skin, he had not been paying attention to Vie. He could imagine her buggy green eyes outrageously wide with embarrassment at the sight of her master undressing. She turned off the faucet and apparently having just figured out what he had been doing, started apologizing.

"Master Draco is being very mad at Vie for not announcing herself in the bathroom. Vie is very, very sorry! Would Master Draco like Vie to punish herself?" Draco let out an exasperated moan and felt along the wall and near the tiled area. He felt at the edge of the tub. The tub had feet on it, and Draco found himself smiling. When he was quite young, he thought that these tubs would walk away if you got in them. He would wrestle and scream with his nanny until they took him to baths without feet on them.

"That is not necessary, Vie. Let yourself out and collect my clothing for me. I would prefer my pinstriped grey trousers, lavender button down, and my black business robes today. Also, open the shampoo bottle for me. Fetch me my wand and a clean white scarf for my eyes. I gather they are no longer in needing of…oh never mind." He supposed that although the area in question was mostly healed, he bet that his eyes were not in the best condition. There was no rustle of elfish feet and his rising frustration met no bounds.

"Are you waiting for the grass to grow Vie? Go and get!" Draco barked. He heard a cap being opened, and then a couple of finger snaps. The door opened and shut within the matter of a few seconds. He divested himself of his pants and felt eagerly for the faucet, setting himself carefully opposite of it. He could see the headlines now, "Malfoy Dies by Slipping in a Bath." The water felt nice on his skin. He unraveled the linen around his eyes and let it fall on the floor next to the tub. Curiously he let his wet hands slide over the skin and bones of his own face. He wasn't disfigured; thank Merlin for those little miracles. He dipped his face in the water, careful not to rub too much at or around his eyes. His eyes burned almost instantly from the heat, but it was disgusting to imagine the dried blood and terrible mess he must have carried in small crevasses for the past two days. Cho had cleaned his face up of course, but it did nothing to a proper bath. He leaned back heavily into the porcelain, once resurfacing. He let out a loud moan in relief.

It did the trick. That bath really helped him come to again. He knew he was standing in front of a mirror, buttoning his lavender shirt. He figured a thing like standing in front of mirror was going to be the first on an exhaustingly ironic list of tasks that were useless now. The WC was humid with steam and the smell of sandalwood soaps and spearmint toothpaste. He tousled his hair into the way that felt correct and dried it with his wand. The overall strangeness of doing everything with his eyes shut had kicked in first when he went to lean over the sink to shave and realize that there would be no reason to lean over the sink when he could not see his face anyway. Instead, he had to go the slowest he had ever gone, stroke by stroke. He had Vie come in once more. She pointed out something he had missed and felt only a tiny smidge of frustration. She stood on the counter and re-tousled his normally perfect hair and tied on a black bandana in place of a white scarf. It was too long.

Draco's second moment of strangeness was when Vie placed in his hand that so familiar cane with the head of a serpent in his hand. His stomach lurched as he felt the coolness of the silver. He gripped it a little tighter. He would learn this place as fast as possible. He would memorize each step. He would not need his father's cane to get him by. The cane felt lighter than it had ever felt. His father's wand had been snapped years ago now, and the black polished cane had been hollow ever since. He opened the door abjectly, and it really felt much better to have a wand on the inside his robes over his heart and to have the cane strong in his hand and out in front of him. He had decided from the moment he woke up today, that he was going to do this on his own. Like Hell he was going to rely on any of these people. He didn't really know exactly who stayed in this house beside Harry and Cho (presently). It was obvious that Harry was here often.

Out in the hallway, that scent of mint and man cologne that meant 'Harry' was strong. He was away from that ridiculous smell of Mungo's bedding and Cho's heady orchid and cherry blossom perfume. She had promised she would have Vie replace his hospital bed with a real bed as soon as possible. He hoped that those sheets that he hit tonight were not the cheap ones. He touched his hand to the wall and realized that whatever wallpaper was there, it was peeling, but the border was some sort of ornate feeling wood. He walked down the hall with a few sturdy steps, waving his cane back and forth. The hallway was narrow and that made him feel a bit better. He ran the cane on the ground and the floor boards creaked as he continued along at a slow pace. He heard it when the cane which had been running across the boards suddenly found air instead. A stair. He felt for a railing, but no luck. There was a sudden bang of a door behind him and Draco jumped. The second it had happened a hand was on his shoulder and he had turned so quickly that his cane had smacked someone very hard in the knee.

"Fuck, Malfoy," Harry yelped.

Then a loud screech of a lady came from the end of the hallway."Filthy half-breeds, tearing to pieces this most noble and ancient house of mine! The Black name is dead, but our purity is preserved. It is better to have no one than to have traitors. Traitors to the Dark Lord and to their own blood…" Draco knew exactly where he was now. He was in the childhood home of his mother and his aunts. This was Potter's home. He heard Harry fire off a spell and a clink of curtain rods, then a beat of silence. Harry hadn't removed his hand from Draco's arm, apparently unsure whether or not Draco was fine to walk on his own.

"I thought you were hiding me Potter," Draco said with large grin on his face, as Harry moaned in pain again. "What, pray tell, am I doing in your home?" Suddenly Lucius' cane felt like it was burning in hand. Embarrassment threatened to flood him and he stood impossibly taller, to mask his shame. Draco was not lying in bed. He figured this late onset of shame over his 'disability' was simply because it was now as Harry was eyeing him that his ego felt impeccably fragile. He could not look Harry in the eye with some challenge, nor could he give him a respectful nod and be on his way. No, like it or not, this man, who had once been his nemesis-turned-savior, was protecting him from harm because he could not protect himself. That put a bitter taste in Draco's mouth. That was something he would _never_ admit out loud. He gripped the snakehead even tighter and felt the hand still on his arm. He fought with himself about whether or not to jerk away from that reassuring hand and then settled immediately when the hand removed itself.

"What gave away the location? Your screaming great-aunt?" Harry said with some sort of playful tone met with irritation. Draco decided he liked that particular emotion from him, it sounded hauntingly of their history. Safer than now.

"Do you really want to know, Potter? I don't mind telling you, you let off a not so subtle cologne-du-Potter." He heard Harry huff and chuckle at his own expense. "Now tell me, why I am at this place and not some hole in the ground?" He heard Harry crack his knuckles on one hand and Draco imagined Harry's expression to be something a bit more irritated than a moment ago.

"Rather curious for a Slytherin, aren't you? This all benefits you, for the time being. You are safe because this place is unplottable." Draco leaned one-sidedly on the cane and turned directly at where he was sure Harry's face was.

"Not nearly as curious as I am interested in exactly _how_ safe I am. The Malfoy Mansion is also unplottable and that stopped no one." Draco finished and looked in the direction of the staircase that was creaking. "Anyone else here that will get a sick pleasure in seeing me at my worst?" It was a familiar voice that laughed politely, stopping just shy of the top step.

"If this is you at your worst, then I would have to beg to differ. You in my class making a fool of yourself, by being mean to others was not your best suit. You look bloody terrific now." He placed it then and Draco let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. They just let werewolves walk around the house, now? Aren't they dangerous? This is some sort of sick joke. If Draco comes out of this house both seeing and not being attacked by some old were-professor of his, he would believe in miracles. Apparently Draco had held his tongue for too long, because Remus was talking to Harry now. Draco caught something about a 'teddy needing a sitter.' Oh yes, Loopy Lupin was definitely loose. Then he heard a baby gurgle and Draco wondered if it had something to do with the child.

"There are thirteen steps on this flight of stairs, Malfoy. You are on the third floor. The second flight of stairs also has thirteen steps. At the bottom of the stairs, you are in the main hall. On your right is a set of doors that is normally propped open. That is the living room and the floo receiving lounge. On the left of the stairs, is the kitchen." Harry apparently had turned to Lupin now, saying something about his Teddy. When Malfoy did not move, Harry turned back to him after only a moment.

"Don't worry. Remus and his son Teddy are the only permanent residents aside from me. Hermione, Ron, and…" There was a tangible and somewhat uncomfortable pause. "Ginny do not live here. However, Hermione does drop by almost daily." Malfoy stood there for a second longer, and then feeling the anxiety of his first set of stairs exit him, started for the one of thirteen. He didn't want Harry to start rattling off information again.

When Draco had worked his way to the fifth step of the first floor, he heard something talking. It was Granger from the study, and then another voice amongst cracks of a fire. Was Granger flooing someone? He started in slowly, feeling that since there was little other option than standing dumbly in the hall, or tripping over something foreign, he would listen in on the conversation. He tried to be as silent as possible as he approach the threshold. Hermione paused in her conversation, and he supposed she looked up at him.

"Oh, Malfoy. Wow, what happened?" Had she not read the newspaper today? Surely Potter would have filled her in on the less than favorable tenant in his house? Why did she care what happened to him? The fireplace's occupant hitched her breath, as if she was exceedingly surprised by something.

"Er…I think I need to go see Harry. Why uh…why not talk to Andromeda for a bit?" Draco tried not to feel a bit taken aback at the comfortable way she had addressed him, and once more that she would expect him to up and talk to his estranged aunt. On second thought, she was arranging his mother's funeral. He didn't know why, possibly guilt. It was a moment later that he was being led to a chair, very near the fire. He sat accordingly and was ready to talk business when he was met with an abrupt sound of crying. The doors of the lounge clicked loudly over the sobs, and he was alone with Aunt Andromeda.


End file.
